A bomb blast targeting an army patrol in the town of Haditha, 210 kilometres (130 miles) west of Baghdad, meanwhile, killed a civilian and wounded three soldiers, according to an army officer and a doctor at Haditha hospital.

And in the main northern city of Mosul, a roadside bomb apparently aiming for a police patrol killed one person and wounded another, according to police 2nd Lieutenant Salam Hamed and doctor Faiz Tareq from the city's main hospital.

Also in Mosul, which lies 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of the capital, two young boys were wounded by another bomb blast, the officials said.

The latest fatalities took to 259 the number of people killed in nationwide attacks so far in August, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security and medical officials.

Violence has significantly decreased in Iraq compared to the brutal years of 2006 and 2007, but attacks are still common across the country.